Heart of Stone / Death Riders

by BBC

  ‘Let me help.’ Rory jumped into the engine and hoisted Garvo over his shoulders. ‘Come on.’

  When Amy stood up, she could see that there was a metal platform beside the engine. It was attached to a flexible metal arm that extended down through the hole in the tunnel wall above them, pivoted so that the platform remained level and upright.

  ‘Make it quick,’ Pete warned.

  The nearest Drexxon had pulled its paw back ready for another strike. It swung at the platform. But Pete worked a control on the remote, and the platform lifted quickly out of the way.

  Amy had almost forgotten about the small Drexxon that had controlled Garvo. But now it launched itself at her and Rory, in a rage. At the same time, the enormous Drexxon that had climbed level with the train grabbed hold of the engine and hauled itself across.

  ‘Jump!’ Rory yelled. He leaped, with Garvo across his shoulders, to the platform.

  Amy followed. She landed close to Rory, and saw that Garvo’s eyes were open and he was staring at her in surprise and fear.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ she told him. ‘We’ll soon be out of here. Won’t we?’ she asked Pete.

  He smiled, and worked the remote. The platform rose rapidly, neatly dodging another attempted blow from the huge Drexxon.

  Below her, Amy could see more of the enormous creatures climbing up towards them. The platform continued to rise, the arm twisting so the platform remained level and the right way up as it withdrew through the hole.

  There was little clearance. And as they were drawn back through the tunnel wall, the whole of the Death Ride train gave a final lurch under the weight of the huge Drexxon that was now clinging to the engine.

  Amy caught a confused glimpse of the small Drexxon snarling angrily at the huge one, as if telling it off. Then the train fell – taking both creatures with it. It plunged down towards the bright light, crashing into the other emerging creatures as it fell, and taking them back down with it. For a moment, the shadows and silhouettes blotted out the bright light. Then they were gone.

  ‘Now!’ Pete yelled over the side of the platform. ‘Now, Doctor! They’re all back inside – close the Perpetuity Chamber.’

  Far below, the Doctor wielded his sonic screwdriver and took the orchestra into its next piece of music. It was one of his favourites, and he sang along with the music as it echoed round the tunnels.

  ‘Klokleda partha mennin klatch … ’

  The fact that it was a lullaby seemed very appropriate.

  CHAPTER 17

  ENCORE

  With the train gone, plummeting into the depths of the hidden vault, Perpetual Pete kept the observation platform on its long metal arm positioned close to the hole in the tunnel wall.

  The light was fading as the Perpetuity Chamber slowly closed. The massive shaggy form of a Drexxon tried to squeeze between the closing sides, but was forced back. For a moment, its huge, savage paw stuck out of the ground, before the light faded and the paw was swallowed up. It sank back into the Perpetuity Chamber like the last struggle of a drowning man …

  Slowly, gently, the metal arm retracted and the platform lowered to the ground. Amy was clutching Rory in a hug. Garvo was waking up, and looking round in confusion. Perpetual Pete was grinning, his white beard twitching as he laughed.

  ‘Are you all right?’ Amy asked Garvo.

  He nodded. ‘I think so. It’s all a bit muzzy to be honest. But … ’ He looked round anxiously.

  ‘Yes?’ Rory prompted.

  ‘What is that awful smell?’

  Perpetual Pete’s grin faded back into his beard. ‘Let’s not get personal, sunshine.’

  Amy ran to the Doctor, who was still conducting furiously. The music swelled and rose to its climax.

  ‘It’s all right,’ Amy told him. ‘The Perpetuity Chamber is closed – you did it. You can stop now.’

  The Doctor’s face was fixed in concentration. ‘No, I can’t,’ he said.

  ‘Why – what’s wrong?’

  ‘What’s wrong? Are you mad?’ The Doctor spread his hands, to slow the music to a close. Then he turned to Amy. ‘We can’t stop now,’ he told her. ‘We haven’t done Land of Hope and Glory yet. And what’s more … ’ he grinned hugely. ‘I’m having such fun. Right everyone, you’ll need to know the words of the chorus.’

  Before long the whole tunnel was full of people. Some were heroic survivors of the Death Ride. Others had been drawn to this tunnel by the sound of the orchestra. All were clapping their hands, playing instruments (or making the sounds of them), and joining in the chorus. Harby and Vosh played like they had never played before, grinning from ear to ear and yelling out the words they had just learned. Perpetual Pete tapped his feet in something close to the correct rhythm.

  ‘Here we go again,’ Rory yelled in delight. ‘Land of Hope and Glory … ’

  ‘You’re mad,’ Amy told him delightedly. ‘We’re all mad.’

  Garvo shook his head. ‘I don’t know what’s going on,’ he said. ‘But it’s amazing.’

  ‘Oh – nearly forgot,’ Rory told him. ‘I picked this up.’ He pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Garvo. It was his harmonica.

  ‘Solo spot!’ the Doctor yelled, pointing his baton-sonic screwdriver at Garvo. ‘Whatever you like. Just make it up as you go along.’

  ‘Make it up?’ Amy said. ‘He’s just faced the most terrible danger, been captured and hypnotised by an alien space monkey and you want him to make it up as he goes along?’

  ‘Works for me,’ the Doctor told her. ‘A one, a two, a one, two, three and – cue Garvo!’

  The crowd listened in silence to the harmonica music. A haunting, lilting melody. Music that made them both happy and sad at the same time. Sounds that affected their emotions and played with their feelings in the way that only music can.

  The End

  Trevor Baxendale

  Cover illustrated by Paul Campbell

  CONTENTS

  Prologue – Night Terrors

  1. Conway Farm

  2. A Hole in the Wall

  3. The First Visitor

  4. Dinner Time

  5. The Uninvited Guest

  6. Rock Monster

  7. Run or Fight?

  8. The Moon’s Cold Gaze

  9. Follow the Rock

  10. Changing

  11. A Nice Cup of Tea

  12. Frozen

  13. Safety in Sunshine

  14. The Research Centre

  15. Waiting

  16. What Went Wrong?

  17. Hoggett’s Offer

  18. Minus Seven

  19. Stone Science

  20. The Heart of Stone

  21. The Statue Wakes

  22. Run!

  23. Explanations

  24. Chris’s Secret

  25. The Doctor Changes

  26. Athrocite

  27. Shut up, Hoggett!

  28. ‘Not a second to lose!’

  29. To the TARDIS

  30. A Return to Normal

  31. The Actual Moon

  32. A Win-Win Situation

  PROLOGUE

  NIGHT TERRORS

  Ralph Conway woke up in the middle of the night. He could hear dogs barking outside.

  Ralph climbed out of bed with a groan. He wasn’t so young anymore, and he was stiff as a board.

  The dogs were barking furiously now.

  Ralph looked out of the window, but it was difficult to see anything in the dark. Something was driving those dogs wild, though.

  ‘Four o’clock in the morning!’ Ralph grumbled, as he pulled a coat on over his pyjamas.

  He went downstairs and switched on the kitchen light. He hoped it would scare off any intruders. Then he pulled on a pair of boots and unlocked the back door. He paused to pick up a torch and a heavy walking stick. Anyone caught lurking outside would get a whack with that stick!

  It was a chilly, moonlit night. The dogs had stopped barking now, which Ralph thought was strange. The sud
den silence was frightening.

  Ralph walked slowly across the yard. The dogs were hanging back, whining, almost as if they were scared. That didn’t make Ralph feel any better. He had lived on the farm all his life and he knew the area well – it was isolated and exposed.

  Suddenly there was a terrific noise – a great, splintering crash in the night, like a juggernaut plowing through a wall at top speed.

  The dogs ran yelping back to the farmhouse.Ralph, his heart pounding, shone his torch into the darkness. The wall at the end of the yard was completely destroyed – there was rubble everywhere. Something huge and heavy had smashed clean through.

  Ralph moved cautiously forward, stick raised. He would defend himself if he had to.

  But no matter where Ralph shone his torch, he saw nothing other than shadows. Apart from the damaged wall, there was nothing to see. There were lumps of stone strewn all around the yard, though, where the wall had been hit.

  Through the break in the wall, Ralph could see a car in the distance. The glow of its headlights moved along the main road on the far side of the valley. It was too far away for him to hear it, but it made him think. It was possible, Ralph thought, that a lorry could have crashed into the wall. The bend in the road going past the farm was a well-known accident black spot. A reckless driver could easily lose control of his vehicle.

  But where was it now? There was no sign of any car or lorry at all. And Ralph hadn’t even heard an engine.

  But there was something.

  The noise of stone moving across stone – a dull, heavy scrape.

  Ralph swung his torchlight around the yard, but there was nothing to see. The barn, the tractor, a rusty old plough. Clumps of straw and mud and some puddles reflecting the light of the moon.

  Scrape, scrape …

  There was something there, Ralph was sure of it. Something moving in the shadows. He aimed the torch again, and this time his hand was trembling. The light flickered across a coil of hosepipe; the water trough; a collection of tools leaning against the outhouse …

  And then he saw it.

  Something huge – lumbering – walking on two legs like some kind of giant …

  And then it was gone, disappearing into the shadows again.

  Ralph’s heart hammered in his chest and his mouth went dry. He shone the torch around the yard, but there was no sign of the strange figure.

  Whatever it was … had gone.

  Ralph licked his lips. Perhaps it had just been his imagination. That was the only explanation, surely. He was still half asleep. His mind was playing tricks on him.

  The dogs were whimpering again. Ralph peered down at the rocks strewn across the yard.

  They shone like bone in the cold moonlight and Ralph shivered …

  CHAPTER 1

  CONWAY FARM

  The TARDIS appeared in the middle of a pigsty. Startled, the pigs ran around in panic, snorting and squealing and slipping in the wet straw.

  Eventually the harsh wheezing of its engines diminished and the TARDIS stood, proud and blue, next to the water trough.

  The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and immediately greeted the pigs. ‘Good morning!’

  But the pigs had already decided to ignore the box and anyone who emerged from inside it. As long as they were fed and watered, they didn’t really mind who shared their sty.

  The Doctor looked like a tall young man with a shock of untidy dark hair and mischievous, deep-set eyes. He wore a tweed jacket and bow tie, with narrow trousers tucked into old boots. He smiled at the pigs as they snuffled around in the straw. ‘Lovely morning!’

  ‘Pigs!’ said Amy Pond, as she followed the Doctor out of the TARDIS. She wrinkled her nose. ‘Phew…’

  ‘That is the scent of the countryside,’ said Rory Williams, as he stepped out into the ordure covering the ground. ‘Yuck.’

  Amy and Rory were the Doctor’s current travelling companions. She was young, pretty, with striking red hair and trendy clothes. He was tall, rather awkward and dressed in jeans and a warm padded jacket.

  Not in the least bit put off by the pigs, the Doctor locked the TARDIS, clearly intending to stay. ‘Just what we need,’ he told his friends. ‘A nice breath of fresh country air.’

  ‘Fresh?’ Amy repeated doubtfully.

  ‘Hey!’ a voice called out. ‘You can’t leave that thing in there like that!’

  They all turned to see a young woman striding towards the pigsty in mud-splattered wellies and a thick, padded coat. She had dark hair tied back and a seriously cross look on her face.

  The three travellers turned as one to look at the TARDIS. The space and time machine was disguised as an old police box and so it looked decidedly out of place in the pigsty. But then, the TARDIS looked a bit out of place anywhere.

  ‘You’ll frighten Old Percy,’ the young woman told them. ‘She’s pregnant, y’know!’

  ‘Percy?’ said Rory with a frown.

  ‘Pregnant?’ said Amy.

  ‘Long story,’ sighed the woman. ‘Look, you can’t stay in there. You’ll have to leave the box where it is, I suppose.’

  The Doctor, Amy and Rory climbed over the low fence surrounding the pen and introduced themselves.

  ‘My name’s Jess,’ the woman said. ‘I’ve come to feed Old Percy. She needs twice as much as normal – she’s eating for six at least.’

  Jess heaved a bucket of slops into the trough and the pigs got stuck in, heads down and ears flopping. The yard was quickly filled with the sound of chomping and snorting.

  ‘How on Earth did you get that thing in there anyway?’ Jess asked, nodding at the TARDIS.

  ‘Well, it just sort of materialised there,’ replied the Doctor.

  Jess raised an eyebrow. ‘Oh, it did, did it?’

  ‘Ask Old Percy.’

  Jess patted the sow’s back. ‘She’s a bit busy now,’ she said with a smile. ‘I’ll ask her later.’

  ‘Do you work here, then?’ Amy asked.

  ‘Of course. This is Conway Farm. It may not look like much, but I call it home.’

  The little farm overlooked a wide valley. The sky above was full of clouds and the promise of rain. A sharp breeze carried the smell of grass and soil and animals across the fields, and Amy shivered in her short skirt. She wasn’t dressed for farming.

  ‘Let’s get you in for a cup of tea,’ laughed Jess. ‘We don’t often get visitors here!’

  They followed Jess along a narrow, rutted track until they reached the farmhouse. A burly man with a hard, grizzled face was busy repairing a broken wall. He wore thick gloves to protect his hands and an old flat cap.

  Rory whistled when he saw the full extent of the damage. There was rubble and bits of broken brick scattered everywhere. ‘What happened here?’ he asked.

  ‘Somethin’ costin’ me time an’ money,’ growled the man. He didn’t sound at all happy.

  ‘This is my dad, Ralph Conway,’ said Jess. She introduced the Doctor, Amy and Rory.

  ‘How do,’ grunted Ralph, touching his cap before returning to his work.

  ‘There was an accident here last night,’ explained Jess. ‘Smashed the wall to bits. Dad’s got to fix it.’

  ‘An accident?’ repeated the Doctor. He was looking at the smashed stones all over the yard.

  ‘We think a lorry or something must have crashed into it last night,’ Jess continued. ‘Plenty of trucks miss the bend in the road and skid if they’re not careful.’

  The Doctor looked at the road and nodded thoughtfully. ‘Yes, I see. Or rather, I don’t.’

  ‘I beg your pardon?’ Jess said.

  ‘No skid marks,’ said the Doctor. ‘Nothing to show any kind of vehicle coming off the road.’

  ‘Uh oh,’ said Rory quietly to Amy. ‘He’s getting all curious …’

  Amy smiled. ‘Probably thinks it was hit by a meteorite or something.’

  The Doctor had picked up a piece of stone from the ground. It was a pale grey colour, roughly the size of a tenn
is ball. He weighed it in his hand and sniffed it. Then he looked around. There were plenty of stones like this littered across the yard.

  ‘All this damage,’ said the Doctor. ‘And no sign of a lorry or a car, or anything.’

  Ralph was watching the Doctor carefully. It was clear that he was interested in what the Doctor had to say. He straightened up and said, ‘Well, what do you think did it? Cos I can’t work it out!’

  The Doctor was smiling. ‘I’ve really no idea,’ he said. ‘But I’d love to find out!’

  ‘Are you from the insurance company?’ asked Jess, as if suddenly struck by a thought. ‘Come to assess the damage?’

  ‘No, I’m just a nosy parker,’ the Doctor replied. ‘For instance, this stone interests me enormously.’ He held up the fragment of grey rock between his finger and thumb for all to see. ‘This isn’t local stone, is it?’

  ‘No,’ answered Ralph. ‘There’s loads of it around this morning, though. I thought it might have fallen off the back of the lorry.’

  ‘The lorry that doesn’t actually exist,’ pointed out Amy.

  Ralph shrugged. ‘I dunno. But it isn’t stone from around here – that much I do know. I thought maybe it had come from Derbyshire.’

  ‘It’s from considerably further away than Derbyshire, Mr Conway,’ said the Doctor. He held the stone up towards the sky. ‘This piece of rock has come all the way from the moon!’

  CHAPTER 2

  A HOLE IN THE WALL

  The Doctor was sitting at the kitchen table, examining the lump of grey rock with his sonic screwdriver.

  Amy and Rory were holding mugs of hot tea, while Jess opened a packet of chocolate biscuits and put them on the table.

  ‘Got any Jammie Dodgers?’ asked the Doctor without looking up. ‘Always liked a Jammie Dodger.’

  ‘Sorry, just these,’ smiled Jess.

  ‘These are fine,’ said Rory, delving into the packet.

  ‘You’d best take them away,’ Amy told Jess, ‘before the Cookie Monster here eats them all.’

  The Doctor looked up sharply. ‘Did someone say monster?’